Impregnation of Wood with Solid Metal Alloys

A method is described for impregnating wood with solid metal alloys for use in bearings exposed to abrasive dust or submerged in water. The impregnated wood has sufficient reserve absorptive capacity to retain additional amounts of oils, greases, or waxes for self-lubrication. The treatment of wood with molten metals is quite similar to treatment with any other liquid, whether water or oil, except that much higher temperatures are employed, special handling techniques must be employed to cope with the heated equipment, and only small blocks lend themselves to convenient treatment. While any species of wood may be treated with metal, retention and penetration will vary considerably from treatment with water or oil due to the fact that the metal enters only the lumens of larger cells. Hence, retention of metals is primarily a function of cell lumen diameter and cell void proportion. Tables are given containing comparative metal retentions of sapwood and heartwood and hardness of untreated, metal-bath treated, and metal-impregnated wood of several species. Hardness and abrasion resistance are significantly increased by metal impregnations, and the treated wood is markedly less hygroscopic, showing greatly improved dimensional stabilization. Gluing behavior is comparable to that of untreated wood except with the heaviest impregnations in a few species.

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